BILL REQ. #:  S-1926.2 

READ FIRST TIME 03/03/03.   

     AN ACT Relating to drainage infrastructure; and amending RCW 77.55.060.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 77.55.060 and 1998 c 190 s 86 are each amended to read as follows:
     A dam or other obstruction across or in a bona fide stream shall be provided with a durable and efficient fishway approved by the director. Plans and specifications shall be provided to the department prior to the director's approval. The fishway shall be maintained in an effective condition and continuously supplied with sufficient water to freely pass fish.
     If a person fails to construct and maintain a fishway or to remove the dam or obstruction in a manner satisfactory to the director, then within thirty days after written notice to comply has been served upon the owner, his or her agent, or the person in charge, the director may construct a fishway or remove the dam or obstruction. Expenses incurred by the department constitute the value of a lien upon the dam and upon the personal property of the person owning the dam. Notice of the lien shall be filed and recorded in the office of the county auditor of the county in which the dam or obstruction is situated. The lien may be foreclosed in an action brought in the name of the state.
     If, within thirty days after notice to construct a fishway or remove a dam or obstruction, the owner, his or her agent, or the person in charge fails to do so, the dam or obstruction is a public nuisance and the director may take possession of the dam or obstruction and destroy it. No liability shall attach for the destruction.
     This section shall not apply to installed drainage infrastructure that was originally installed on or before the effective date of this section or to the repair, improvement, or replacement of such drainage infrastructure including dikes, drains, tide gates, flood gates, pumps, drainage tiles, and drainage pipe that protects land for agricultural uses unless these facilities are located on a bona fide stream. For the purpose of this section, bona fide streams do not include drainage ditches and installed drainage infrastructure.